Hopes for Change
by MelanieCat45
Summary: Grace Anderson simply wants to spend time with Sarah, her friend, and David, the boy she loves. That may seem simple, but when your father is a wealthy banker and you love a newsboy, simple things suddenly get more complicated. Jack/Sarah, David/OC
1. Chapter 1

Her father would have killed her if he saw her sneaking out of the house that afternoon, but luckily for Grace, her father was in Boston on a business trip. And when Father was away, she was supposed to stay inside the house but it wasn't like the housekeeper actually checked to make sure the girl was in her room. Being an only child with an often-absent father, a dead mother, and an apathetic housekeeper certainly made sneaking out easier. That was perhaps the only benefit of the entire situation.

Grace had waited until Bessie, the housekeeper, was banging around in the kitchen preparing a meal for Grace that would go uneaten before she slid open her bedroom window and swung herself over the windowsill, sliding down the roof over the porch until she could lower herself down to the ground. Standing, she shook out her skirts and fussed with her hair for a moment before chancing a glance up at her bedroom window. Still dark. And her door was locked, so Bessie wouldn't come in and find her missing.

Grinning, Grace shoved her hands in her coat pockets to keep them warm as she started on her walk. She was going to meet Sarah at the Jacobs' house, then the two girls would go and meet Jack and David and get dinner before going to see the vaudeville show at Irving Hall with some of the other boys. Usually, she wouldn't have needed to sneak out. She was allowed to go visit friends. But then her father had found out that Mr. Jacobs was a factory worker and David sold papers, and that had been the end of that.

"It's not dignified!" Her father paced around his office, gesturing wildly as Grace stared down at her hands, pretending she was invisible and not the target of her father's rage.

"But… why can't I be friends with Sarah? She's nice…"

"Because her family is poor! It's not dignified for the only daughter of a banker to associate with the children of factory workers!"

Grace prudently decided it would be better not to mention that she and Sarah also spent a great deal of their time with the newsboys and street rats. It certainly wouldn't help her case.

"So! From now on, you are not allowed to visit friends when I'm not at home. And when you do go to visit friends, they will be people I approve, and Bessie or I will escort you to their homes. Like those Greenfield girls. I would approve of you spending time with them."

"Suzanne and Lucille Greenfield are shallow, stupid, and vain girls with hardly a thought in their heads besides fashion and how to catch a husband. I would rather stick pins in my eyes than spend any time with them."

"Well, then, some other girls of that same social standing. But you will not see that Jacobs girl again, do you hear me?"

Grace nodded wordlessly, knowing better than to ague with her father when he was in this type of mood.

"Good. Now shoo, I'm sure you have homework or something of the like."

Well, her father wasn't home now, and what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. Her steps quickened as she reached the Jacobs' apartment and she hurried up the stairs to meet Sarah just coming out of the apartment. They smiled at each other for a moment before Grace stood on her toes to embrace Sarah and kiss her cheek. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. You're early."

"I'm always early. You know I'm ridiculously punctual."

"I know. It's horribly annoying when one's friend is always early and one is trying to surprise said friend with roasted almonds from the street cart."

"Really?" Grace beamed up at Sarah and hugged her again. "You're way too nice to me. You don't have to do that."

"Why not?" Sarah linked her arm with Grace's, pulling her down the stairs and out of the building, to the almond cart. "You're my friend and I like giving my friends things. And I have some extra money this month, you know how ladies all want to deck out their dresses with lace so they look fancier."

"But…"

"No buts. I'm treating you, since you've already demanded to be allowed to pay for the show for Jack, David, and me." With that, Sarah handed a coin over to the vendor and accepted the paper cone of almonds, opening it so the two girls could share it as they walked to meet Jack and David.

"So. Um… I won't be able to meet you or the boys nearly as often now."

"Why not?"

"My father discovered that your father works in a factory. And he says that I'm not allowed to associate with you anymore, and I have to be escorted to visit socially acceptable friends. I sneaked out today, because Father's out of town and Bessie doesn't check on me. But when he's in town, I can't leave the house without his permission."

"That's… that's awful. Your father thinks that just because my family is poor, we're not worthy to be your friends?"

"Yeah…" Grace trailed off, looking down.

"But you don't think that, right?"

"No, of course not!" Grace said quickly, looking back up at Sarah.

Sarah grinned. "Good. Because, as you know, there is no biological difference between the different social classes of man. We're all equal and the proletariat are being…"

"Sarah. I know. You don't have to lecture me on social equality."

Sarah laughed. "Sorry. But it's important and a lot of people don't seem to realize it."

"I know, Sarah. But they will, someday…" Grace trailed off, then pointed up ahead. "There's Jack and Davey."

"Brilliant, they aren't looking at us." Sarah glanced over at Grace and winked before lightly jogging up behind the boys, keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible. Grace trailed after her, a hand clamped over her mouth to silence her giggles. As they drew close to the boys, Sarah signaled to Grace to grab a handful of snow as she did so herself. After taking a deep breath, Grace followed suit, sneaking up behind David.

Hidden behind Jack, Sarah mouthed 'one, two, three' at Grace before yanking back Jack's shirt collar to shove the snow down his back, leaping away from him as the boy freaked out, spinning in a circle. Grace did the same to David a second later, both girls falling back to lean against the wall, giggling together over the looks on the boy's faces as they tried to shake the melting snow out of their shirts.

"Sarah, that wasn't funny!" David groaned and set about tucking his shirt in again, trying to make himself look presentable.

Grace fought back the giggles as she scooped David's hat off the sidewalk, placing it back on his head. "I don't know what definition of 'funny' you're looking at, but that, David darling, was funny." Smirking, she stood on her toes and pulled David down by his tie so she could press a kiss to his cheek. David blushed but smiled, kissing her briefly on the lips.

"I really don't need to see you two kissing, you know." Sarah rolled her eyes, turning her gaze to the other boy. "No smart comment from you, Jacky boy?"

"Sarah, Davey said I need to try and turn the other cheek, whatever that means."

"It means you need to accept what some people do against you without starting a fight." David rolled his eyes and gently wrapped an arm around Grace's waist.

"That'll be the day…" Sarah muttered, but she smiled at Jack and wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a long kiss, which made both David and Grace look away.

When Jack pulled away, he smirked at Sarah. "You know you love that about me."

"Indeed I do." Sarah laughed, gazing into Jack's brown eyes.

"Young lady! What are you doing with that boy in the middle of the street? Disgusting! Why, in my day, unmarried girls did not do that with an upstart lad in a public place! We didn't do that at all, not until we were properly married!" A tiny old lady had hobbled up to them, reaching up to whack Jack in the back of the head with her cane.

"Hey! What was that for?" Jack pulled away from Sarah, rubbing the back of his head as he stared down at the elderly lady in confusion. David and Grace had to hide their laughter, glad it was Jack and not them who had been seen.

"For being intimate with a young lady in broad daylight! It's a scandal, the way young people are acting today!"

"Beggin' your pardon, ma'am, but she started it." Sarah rolled her eyes and slapped Jack upside the head. "Ow, what was that for?"

"For being an idiot."

"She couldn't have, a nice young lady like her. It's always the boy who starts it!"

"Why, I oughta…"

"Jack! Turn the other cheek!"

Jack stared over at David for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Sorry, ma'am, won't happen again."

"It better not." The lady shook her cane at Jack. "Or I'll be calling the police on you! Indecent, in the middle of the street. There are children out! Why, I never…" She headed off down the street, muttering to herself as the four teenagers stared after her.

Then Grace giggled. "I think I know that lady. Old Mrs. Dalton. Her son is starting a boys' school in Ohio."

"Oh, is he? How fascinating, tell me more… No, wait. I could care less." Jack snorted and wrapped his arm around Sarah's waist, pulling her off in the direction of Tibby's. David and Grace trailed after them.

"Technically, you should be saying that you couldn't care less. Saying you could care less would imply that you do care something about the topic. Unless, of course, you do want to learn more about this school in Ohio. In which case, I'm sure Grace could indulge you."

"Davey?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."


	2. Chapter 2

David hadn't shut up and cheerfully continued to tease and badger Jack all the way to Tibby's, making Sarah and Grace laugh and making Jack scowl and fume at being the target of their teasing. Sarah kissed him on the cheek as they entered the restaurant.

"Lighten up, Jack. We only do this because we love you."

"I don't see how that makes it any better." Jack rolled his eyes but smirked, leading the way to a table in the corner as Mr. Tibby followed them with menus.

Grace dropped into a chair, smiling as she accepted the menu. "It means we have good intentions, Jack. Like cutting your ego down to size. You can hardly blame us for doing that. Why, if your head was any bigger, you wouldn't be able to fit through the door!"

"Hey, that ain't nice!" Jack made a face at Grace, but sat down along with David and Sarah to peruse the menus.

"But it's true!" replied Grace, hiding behind her menu as Jack looked around for something to throw at her. She traded a look with Sarah, both girls giggling.

"Come on, stop fighting and pick out what you want to eat. I'm buying for you, Grace. No, don't argue." David held up a hand to halt her protests. "If I'm courting you, I want to pay for you. It's more proper." He winked at her. "And since you're already paying for the show, I want to buy dinner."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Who says I want to be properly courted? That's something Father wants for me. I just want to have fun and be with people I like." She returned her gaze to the menu, deciding not to press the issue with David. He was fairly traditional, or at least more traditional than the other newsboys. Of course he would want to court her properly, even if her father would never approve of him.

"David, you can't ever go to her house with flowers to court her. You know that, right?" Sarah peered over her menu at David, brows furrowed.

"Why not?" David glanced between Sarah and Grace, who was suddenly very interested in her menu and the different sandwiches.

"Because," Sarah sighed, "her father would never approve. He already doesn't want her spending time with me, because Papa works in a factory. She had to sneak out of the house today because she's now forbidden to leave the house without his permission."

"Sarah…." Grace began softly, trying to stall her before she started ranting.

But Sarah spoke over her. "And he has to escort her to visit the _proper_ people, people like him who think that they can judge and place people in the social hierarchy when it's complete and utter bull and Grace is proof that wealth and social standing don't matter. But no, her father has forbidden her to associate with those of us on the lower rungs of the social ladder. Who knows what he'd do if he found out she was going to a vaudeville show tonight with a bunch of newsies, who are-"

"Sarah!" Grace had zoned out during Sarah's rant and turned her attention to the other people in the restaurant, but now she started and grabbed Sarah's wrist, while simultaneously trying to hide behind her menu.

"What?" Sarah tried to pull the menu away from Grace's face so she could see what was wrong, but Grace waved her away.

"That man, who just walked in! He works with my father! He's been over to our house, he knows me. Oh, God, if he sees me he's bound to tell my father. What do I do?"

"Um…." Sarah glanced around the restaurant, trying to see where the man was seated. "Look, he's sitting at the counter. So, um… Oh! Just trade spots with Jack, so your back is to him. He's far enough away that he won't get a good look at you, and if he happens to glance around, he'll just see your back and not recognize you."

Grace nodded, peering around her menu, and when she was certain the man wasn't going to look their way, she quickly stood and hurried to Jack's side, pushing him out of his chair so she could sit down quickly.

Jack, chuckling, dropping into Grace's vacated seat. "Why are you so worried about him telling you father?"

"Weren't you listening to Sarah?" Grace raised an eyebrow, shutting her menu.

"No."

"Jackass."

"Yeah, that is what my ass would be called."

"Shut up, Jack." David rolled his eyes. "If he tells her father, he'd keep such a close eye on her that she wouldn't be able to sneak out to visit us."

"Exactly. He'd probably start taking me on his business trips, just to make sure. And he'd take back his promise to let me go to college and become a teacher and just focus on marrying me off." Grace bit her lip, eyes darting between David and the table.

"Oh…. That extreme?" David reached over the table to grab Grace's hand, rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Yeah… If he ever found out about you and me, I'd probably be shipped off to a convent in France. Father is very traditional and concerned with propriety."

"So, what, then? We keep hiding and sneaking around and hoping he doesn't find out? That's not a very healthy relationship, Grace…"

"I know, David, but what can we do?" Grace looked up into David's eyes, her brows furrowed in concern and confusion. Jack and Sarah had suddenly become very interested in their menus and the other diners, leaving David and Grace the smallest bit of privacy to talk.

"I don't know. I know I love you, and I want to be with you. But now, with your father, we can't see each other very much. And you're like my sun, Grace, you bring light to my life and make everything seem more hopeful."

"Oh my God…" Grace blushed and covered her mouth with her free hand. "That is the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Sarah coughed into her hand, a cough that vaguely sounded like, "Bullshit." David and Grace ignored her.

"I love you too, David. Spending time with you… well, you and Sarah, is about the only thing that can make me happy. I don't want to lose you."

David licked his lips, and then lifted their clasped hands to press a kiss to the back of Grace's hand. "We'll figure something out, okay? We'll make it work, and then you'll go to college and become a teacher and get out of your father's control."

"I hope so…" Grace smiled gently, but her eyes still were distant and dark, lost in thought.

Mr. Tibby arrived at the table shortly afterwards to take their orders, breaking up the slightly awkward silence left after Grace and David's discussion. As Tibby left with their menus and orders, Grace cast a quick glance over her shoulder and sighed, returning her gaze to the table.

"He's still here. Why is he still here? Bankers don't eat here, this is where newsboys and reporters eat…"

Jack shrugged. "Who cares? He's not bothering us, maybe he's visiting someone on this side of town."

Grace nodded uncertainly, but tried to forget about her father's coworker. Instead, she quickly turned talk to lighter topics. "So, boys, how was the headline today?"

"Horrible." David rolled his eyes. "It was something like, 'World's Fair in Paris This Summer.' That's the dullest headline since the ones about the trolley strike."

"I tell ya, the idiot who wrote it must have worked for the Sun." Jack chortled.

"Hey, don't rag on the Sun! They gave us our fifteen minutes of fame this summer."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes. So I embellished a little."

"Embellished how?" Sarah raised an eyebrow, instantly suspicious.

"Well, you remember the murders during the Chicago fair?"

"Barely. That was what, seven years ago?"

"Yeah, but everyone remembers them." Jack shrugged. "So I started shouting about how the organizers feared a repeat of the murders, and David looked at me like I was crazy-"

"To be fair, the article was just about the best ways to travel to Paris and where to stay during the Fair."

"-but then he joined in and them papes started flying out of our arms."

"Those papes, Jack. Not them papes," Grace corrected softly.

"Whatever. Anyway, we sold all the morning editions by ten-thirty. The afternoon edition was a bit slower, but still, we made a lot." Jack grinned, evidently pleased with himself.

"Well, good for you." Sarah smiled, patting David on the back. "Mother will be pleased. But she wants you to go back to school, are you sure you can't just sell the afternoon edition? My lace is selling well and Mother is going to start working for Mrs. Pierce with her laundry business. And besides," she grinned, a mischievous gleam in her eyes, "if you go to school and become a journalist, Grace's father might just approve of you. Or, well, not look down on you nearly as much."

David frowned. "Look, Sarah. The morning edition sells better than the afternoon one. And I'm not letting our family starve; having some extra money around is a good thing. We'll see how things are after Mother's been working for a while, but Papa's not ever going to be able to go back to work. We need the money I make selling papes."

"I'm not saying we don't. But you'll make so much more money as a journalist. And you're talented, David. You have to think of what you can do after you get too old to be a newsie."

"Yeah. Yeah, Sarah, I know. We'll figure it out when we get there." David evidently had endured this conversation multiple times and was in no mood to repeat it, especially with an audience of his best friend and his girl.

Sarah opened her mouth, clearly not done lecturing David, but was interrupted when Tibby returned with their sandwiches. The four teenagers quickly abandoned any conversation and dug in. Tibby's, in their opinion, at least, had the best sandwiches in town and they certainly weren't going to try and carry on a conversation and enjoy their meal at the same time.

As Grace was finishing the first half of her sandwich, someone tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped. "Oh!"

"Miss Anderson."


	3. Chapter 3

"Mr. Feeney! I, uh… I didn't see you?" Grace's gaze darted between her friends and her father's coworker, clearly starting to panic.

"Your father asked me to check on you today, to make sure you were all right by yourself-"

Grace cut him off. "I'm not by myself when Father leaves, Bessie stays at the house with me."

"All the same," he continued, "I was a bit shocked when I saw you climbing out your bedroom window."

Grace winced. "I didn't see anyone on the street…"

"My car was off and parked across the road from your house. Clearly, you are not very observant."

"Oh…"

"At any rate, I decided I probably should follow you, as a girl sneaking out of her house can hardly be anything proper." He gazed down his nose at the boys and Sarah, his eyebrows raised in disapproval. "I was right. Now, Miss Anderson, you may either accompany me back to your house and I will not mention this to your father, or you can continue on whatever little adventure you seem intent on partaking in and I will most certainly mention to your father where you went and who you were with." His eyes roamed over the four teenagers. "Your call, Miss Anderson. I will be at the counter when you've made your decision."

As he turned and left, Grace shuddered as she turned to face the others. Quietly, she muttered, "I hate him. He's so creepy…." Slightly louder, she asked, "So… What do I do?"

Sarah shrugged, gently patting her friend's shoulder. "It's your call, dear. I won't think any less of you for wanting to avoid angering your father."

David nodded, quietly adding, "I don't want him to send you to a convent…" which made Grace giggle nervously.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest. "I say you should stand up to him. You keep hiding from your pa and nothing's ever gonna change."

"But if her father finds out and keeps even closer tabs on her, we're never going to be able to see her again!" Sarah practically exploded, making Grace hastily pat her arm and shush her.

David ignored Jack and Sarah and reached across the table to grab Grace's hands, gently stroking them with his thumb. "Look, it's your decision. Do what you need to."

Grace nodded, taking a deep breath. "I think… I guess if Mr. Feeney won't tell my father, I should go with him. Because I don't know what my father is going to do when he finds out, and I don't want to risk it."

Sarah nodded, rubbing Grace's shoulder. "All right. Go on, we'll figure out when we can see each other again." Grace nodded, then leaned across the table to lightly kiss David's cheek. He quickly kissed her lips, trying to be subtle about it.

Setting her chin, Grace grabbed her coat and headed across the restaurant to Mr. Feeney. "I've made my decision. I'll accompany you back to my house."

"Smart decision, Miss Anderson. Come along."

* * *

><p>"Miss Anderson?"<p>

"What? I really don't want to talk to you, as you basically ruined my evening with my friends." Grace glared out the window, angrily chewing her lip.

"Your friends? That's amusing." Mr. Feeney chuckled under his breath.

"Why, exactly?" She managed to tear her gaze away from the window to frown at him, confused.

"Miss Anderson, you're the heiress to a rather sizable fortune. They are guttersnipes and of the working class. There can never be a real friendship between you and them."

Grace froze for a moment, then swallowed nervously. "You're wrong. Sarah is my friend, she likes me for who I am."

"She likes you for your money."

"No, she doesn't! You don't even know her!" Grace turned away from him, to return to glaring out the window.

"Look, Miss Anderson. You may not realize it now, but there can never be a true friendship between such unequal classes."

Grace turned to him and opened her mouth to protest, but Mr. Feeney cut her off.

"Besides, we've arrived back at your home. And it appears someone's business trip has been cut short."

Grace slowly looked over to her home and, sure enough, her father's car was parked in the driveway. "Shit…" she muttered, and Mr. Feeney didn't even bother to chastise her for such crude language.

"Come along, Miss Anderson. I'm sure your father is expecting us."


End file.
